OGDEN, Utah—The Big Sky Conference released its 2017 Preseason Tennis Polls on Wednesday. Both Idaho squads were picked to finish among the top of the conference in a vote by the league's coaches.
The Idaho men were selected as the top team in the standings, receiving five first-place votes and a total of 110 total points. Weber State was selected second with 105 points, while Sacramento State rounds out the top three with 99 points.
The Vandals came up just shy of back-to-back Big Sky championships last season. Idaho advanced to the championship match to defend their title against Weber State. The match came down to the wire, finishing in favor of the Wildcats, 4-3.
Felipe Fonseca, a First Team All-Big Sky selection in 2016, returns to Idaho in 2017. Fellow junior
Mark Kovacs and freshman
Carlos Longhi Neto enter the dual season as the seventh ranked doubles pair in the ITA Mountain Region rankings.
The Idaho women were selected third overall in the standings to start 2017. The 2016 Big Sky champions received two first-place votes and 106 total points. Sacramento State is predicted to place atop the Big Sky this season, garnering five first-place votes and 113 points. Northern Arizona gets the slight edge over Idaho with 111 total points and five-first place votes.
The women earned their third consecutive conference championship in 2016. Idaho became back-to-back Big Sky champions with a 4-0 sweep over Northern Arizona last May. The Vandals advanced to their third straight NCAA Tournament with the win. The Vandals drew No. 8 seeded Pepperdine in the tournament, closing the season in Malibu, Calif.
Sophomore
Marianna Petrei, the 2016 Big Sky MVP, returns to help lead the women. She finished last year undefeated in conference play, closing the season with an 11-0 record in the No. 1 position.
The men open the spring season on Jan. 21 at Lewis-Clark State. The women will host Wyoming on Jan. 28 to begin their 2017 slate.
| Men (1st place) |
Points |
| IDAHO (5) |
110 |
| Weber State (6) |
105 |
| Sacramento State |
99 |
| Northern Arizona (1) |
98 |
| Montana |
93 |
| Montana State |
61 |
| Eastern Washington |
54 |
| Idaho State |
53 |
| Portland State |
50 |
| Northern Colorado |
37 |
| North Dakota |
18 |
| Southern Utah |
14 |
| Women (1st place) |
Points |
| Sacramento State (5) |
113 |
| Northern Arizona (5) |
111 |
| IDAHO (2) |
106 |
| Weber State |
86 |
| Montana State |
82 |
| Eastern Washington |
74 |
| Portland State |
58 |
| Idaho State |
44 |
| Northern Colorado |
44 |
| Montana |
42 |
| Southern Utah |
18 |
| North Dakota |
14 |
